Chapter 153 Nonsense

The sky was overcast, and fine snowflakes tapped against the glass, instantly forming a layer of white mist.

The minibus drove into the mausoleum area and stopped in front of the museum building.

The pine trees sway in the breeze, a thin frost covers the withered grass, and the ridgeline of Duling stretches and undulates under the gray sky.

Huang Zhifeng tightened the collar of his cotton coat and stepped out of the carriage. Next came Chen Fen, followed by Wang Qizhi and Lin Sicheng.

He took out his cigarette case and handed one to Wang Qizhi. With a "snap," the lighter flicked out a flame, and after a deep inhale, two puffs of white smoke billowed from his nostrils.

"Lin Sicheng, Chen and I both thought that you were assigned to the advisory group to participate in experimental research. But what are you doing, looking for graves?"

Huang Zhifeng was particularly puzzled. "It's one thing to search, but to search in the opposite direction to the archaeological institute: they're going east, but you insist on going west? No, this is truly a unique idea."

Lin Sicheng didn't speak, he just smiled.

"You're still laughing?" Chen Fen said, exasperated. "Look at you, it's so cold and windy, wouldn't it be better to stay in a warm house? Why do you have to run all over the mountains and fields? Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

"Going in the opposite direction, going against the grain, you'll definitely be laughed at in the end. Why bother?" Huang Zhifeng coaxed patiently, like coaxing a child. "Listen to me, come with me and Team Leader Chen. I'll go find the leader and transfer you over here right now!"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "There are so many professors, researchers, and PhDs in the experimental group. I would just be a bystander if I went there."

Huang Zhifeng looked completely bewildered: "The problem is, if you search to the west, isn't it a waste of time?"

"It's alright, it's fine if I look for it for nothing!" Lin Sicheng smiled. "I just had a sudden idea. I happened to have read some apocryphal texts and feng shui knowledge, so I thought I'd give it a try!"

"You're neglecting your duties!" Huang Zhifeng said helplessly. "I'm truly speechless!"

Unable to persuade him otherwise, they could only let him go. Then, staff members came to invite them, so Huang Zhifeng and Chen Fen had no choice but to go to the laboratory first.

Before leaving, he added: "It's so cold, just go up the mountain and have some fun. If you get really bored, go to the provincial museum to keep Yao Hansong company."

The old man is alone in the lab; he must be quite lonely...

Wang Qizhi was just there on behalf of the school to drop off Lin Sicheng, so he wasn't in a hurry.

After the two left, he rested his chin on his hand, pretending to be deep in thought: "The teacher definitely supports you. But to be honest, your reasons for going west are a bit weak."

Logically speaking, there is indeed some truth to that.

But the problem is, Zhang Anshi's tomb is really in the west, isn't it?

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Teacher, I'll give it a try!"

"Alright, let's give it a try! Even if we can't find it, at most people will laugh at us. I've already made arrangements, so no one will give you any trouble!"

Wang Qizhi nodded, "If anyone is blind, don't panic or argue. Just come back, and your teacher will stand up for you!"

Lin Sicheng smiled and said, "Thank you, teacher!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than two more buses arrived, with signs on their windshields reading: Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Field Archaeology Institute.

Many people came down and entered the museum's office area one after another.

Wang Qizhi stared wide-eyed for a long time, until almost everyone had left, before he spotted a familiar face. He quickly waved, "Tadokoro, Tadokoro?"

A man in his early forties, with a dark complexion and a burly build, paused for a moment and walked over: "I didn't see you at the station, I thought you weren't here?"

"They're here, heading to the Public Security Bureau!"

After exchanging pleasantries, Wang Qizhi introduced, "This is Director Tian from the Field Archaeology Institute of the Provincial Institute of Archaeology. He excavated a Three Kingdoms tomb in Qingfeng Gorge (the middle section of the Qinling Mountains, which belongs to Baoji) the year before last. I shared a tent with him for a year. You can just call him Teacher Tian."

Lin Sicheng was taken aback: he hadn't expected Wang Qizhi to have this experience.

Field archaeology is truly arduous, especially when it involves venturing deep into the Qinling Mountains. It's quite remarkable that Wang Qizhi was able to persevere for a year.

After a moment's thought, Lin Sicheng quickly greeted, "Hello, Tian Suo!"

"well……"

Wang Qizhi turned around again: "This is my student. I told you before, so keep an eye on him!"

"I know!" Tian Jie nodded vigorously, blinking his big eyes as he looked Tian Jie up and down.

This was the first time Wang Qizhi had met Tian Jie, but he would brag about it to him whenever he saw him, and sometimes, after having a few drinks, he would even call him specifically to brag.

They raved about how amazing this student was, how much of a genius he was, how smart he was, and how much he knew. It's no exaggeration: Tian Jie was practically sick of hearing it.

Looking at him now, he is quite handsome and energetic. Whether he is as amazing as Wang Qizhi said, we don't know yet.

But the idea was definitely unique: searching in the opposite direction to the archaeological institute was quite individualistic. In all his years of archaeology, Tian Jie had never seen anything like it before.

The key point is that he actually had support: the Public Security Bureau specially assigned him three strong young men to carry the equipment, and also provided him with a local guide.

Just now, Director He made a special call to ask if he could assign Lin Sicheng another recorder and a surveyor, adding: "What if?"

The idea that the deputy director of the municipal bureau would say such a thing, and that the municipal public security bureau would provide unconditional support, seems quite absurd at first glance.

But considering all the boasts Wang Qizhi had made, Tian Jie immediately concluded: this kid definitely has real talent. And he's probably done something extraordinary that outsiders don't know about.

Otherwise, if one supervisor is making a fuss, it's not good if both supervisors are making a fuss.

After thinking it over, Tian Jie nodded: "Going out into the fields is hard work. If you feel tired, just say so. If you have any difficulties, feel free to ask!"

He paused briefly, then emphasized again, "My relationship with your teacher developed from sleeping together, don't be shy!"

Wang Qizhi spat and said, "Sleep my ass?"

Tian Jie grinned, showing his teeth.

The three pillars of friendship: fighting together, going to the countryside together... Their relationship was truly excellent.

After chatting for a few minutes, Tian Jie said goodbye to Wang Qizhi and led Lin Sicheng into the office area.

"Xiaolin, how are you going to look for him?"

Lin Sicheng said calmly, "We need to wait for the weather to clear up, first check the celestial phenomena, and compare them with the star map! Then compare them with the terrain."

Tian Jie nodded: "Yes, the idea is good!"

After Emperor Wu of Han established Confucianism as the state ideology, the study of prophecies and divination gradually flourished. People revered the concepts of "harmony between heaven and man" and "serving the dead is serving the living," which is why they would "bury their dead after observing the stars" and "let their souls return to heaven and earth."

But that refers to ordinary officials and nobles.

For a high-ranking official like Zhang Anshi, who held the title of Marquis, had a fief of ten thousand households, served three emperors, and was a pillar of the restoration of the dynasty, there were strict rules regarding where and how he would be buried after his death.

For example, the "Biography of Zhang Tang" in the Book of Han, which includes the "Biography of Zhang Anshi", clearly states: "After Anshi's death, he was posthumously honored as Marquis Jing... Emperor Xuan, recognizing Anshi's loyalty and diligence as a palace guard, bestowed upon him the tomb of Duling."

Secondly, many later geographical documents mention it, such as the "Commentary on the Waterways Classic: Wei River" (written by Li Daoyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty):

To the east of Duling is the tomb of Zhang Anshi, whose seven hundred servants worked on the tomb, digging earth to build a chamber and piling stones to form an outer coffin... The tombs of Tang Zi Anshi and his grandson Yanshou are also located there.

And local gazetteers: Tang Dynasty's "Yuanhe Junxian Tuzhi" states: Zhang Hou Tomb is located east of Duling...

Look, it's all east of Duling.

But Lin Sicheng suddenly said: "West of Duling." When asked for his reasoning: was it based solely on speculation from apocryphal texts?

It's no exaggeration to say that no one is calling him crazy; it's good enough that he acted on a whim.

But with a close friend's advice and a colleague's concern, Tian Jie was determined to look after the child. Whether he could find the child or not didn't matter; he just wanted to make sure the child wasn't mistreated.

Lost in thought, the two entered the conference room.

The on-site task assignment meetings were arranged separately for each group, with the archaeological group being handled by the Archaeology Department of the Provincial Institute of Archaeology.

Many supporting units also sent teams, such as the archaeological institute, research office, and laboratory of the provincial academy. The archaeological institute even sent two field teams, which were personally led by the director, Tian Jie.

There were many people; the small conference room was packed.

Once inside, Lin Sicheng randomly found a seat, while Tian Jie went to the leadership area.

There were quite a few people, about eight or nine, all of whom were team leaders from various units.

The meeting officially began, and the materials that had been distributed in advance were placed on the table. Lin Sicheng picked them up and flipped through them.

Sure enough, after patrolling for more than a week, no signs of recent looting were found in the east and southeast of Duling.

However, the physical evidence from the Public Security Bureau shows that the illegal excavation activities are still ongoing and continuing.

The information also mentions: Could it be that the sudden inspection and search alerted the tomb raiders, causing them to abandon Zhang Anshi's tomb and instead raid other Western Han tombs?

It's not impossible, but the entire Duling Mausoleum complex is only so big, and a team of over a hundred people searched almost the entire area. So even if they did rob, they would have robbed tombs outside of Duling.

And there are so many Western Han Dynasty tombs in Xijing?

However, we still need to find Zhang Anshi's tomb, since the legacy, jade artifacts, the Qingbai Mirror, and the Seven Star Board cannot be faked.

The meeting proceeded smoothly, with leaders receiving the list and making arrangements for each group.

But as he was reading, the voice on the microphone suddenly stopped.

The person in charge of the meeting was the deputy director of the archaeology department, surnamed Hu, who was in his fifties and had a thin face.

He frowned deeply, staring intently at the document, seemingly having seen something.

Then he looked up again, his expression slightly serious: "Lin Sicheng from Northwest University, who is he?"

Lin Sicheng paused for a moment, then raised his hand: "Boss, it's me!"

Hu Zheng stared intently at Lin Sicheng for more than ten seconds with a strange expression.

Then, he pointed to the document: "'The statement that Zhang Anshi's tomb is southeast of Duling' should be a misrecorded record in ancient documents. His family tombs are suspected to be outside of Duling... You're the one who suggested this?"

Lin Sicheng was completely stunned. He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Yes, it was him who brought it up: but he only mentioned it at the Public Security Bureau... oh no, to be more precise, he mentioned it privately to Guan Xingmin, Director Zheng, and Director Chen.

He even asked if he could send two helpers to try and find it. He figured he was just killing time anyway, so it didn't matter if they couldn't find it.

Director Chen Peng agreed almost without hesitation, saying he would give it a try.

But he never mentioned it in public, nor did he submit any written materials.

Where did the records on this document come from?

It was not only submitted to the investigation team, but also transferred to the archaeology team, and was even specially arranged at a meeting.

Haha... Director Huang, Director Huang, is your mouth blessed?

I'd be laughed to death...

Lin Sicheng was stunned, and Tian Jie was even more stunned: such a proposal had actually been put into a document? More importantly, he hadn't seen it before?

That's pretty unbelievable.

Unsurprisingly, this was definitely added at the last minute by some leader.

Suddenly, he remembered the phone call he received shortly before his departure: "Tadokoro, Kobayashi has some good ideas, and it's not impossible. Do you think you could support him?"

Haha, He Zhigang?

Just as I was pondering this, a cold snort came from the side: "Isn't this ridiculous?"